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One Man's Opinion

KAMLOOPS — This seems to be the week for theories. Our Armchair Mayor, who seems to be getting pretty relaxed in that couch of his, has been speculating on all sorts of things while he waits for the start of summer. He’s been talking about what to do about the City’s three-dog bylaw, and his thoughts include a weight bylaw for dogs instead of a number you can have. He suggests we can keep noise down by having parents kick their kids out of homes earlier to fend for themselves. He speculated on the Emperor’s (Liberals) New Clothes.

KAMLOOPS — A new study released yesterday shows the struggle many Fort McMurray residents had trying to find answers in last year’s devastating wildfire. An analysis of 70,000 tweets showed many could find no source of information as the wildfire roared through their community, tearing apart lives and leaving many homeless.

KAMLOOPS — We have spent the past week talking about Access 4 All. It’s all about showcasing some of the things we’re doing to make Kamloops more accessible for those who have difficulty with accessibility. And in particular, the reopening of the newly accessible Grasslands Loop. This trail has been made more accessible for walkers, those in wheelchairs and it’s a great improvement for our City.

KAMLOOPS — Whatever is negotiated at the end of the day regarding the length of spring break in our school district, let’s be up front and not try to fool anyone. An extra week of vacation time, coupled with what teachers already get, is plenty of holiday time for anyone. It’s more than almost everyone else gets with a similar salary. If a teacher with a Master’s earns upward of $80,000 a year, three months off a year is pretty good. For a starting teacher making $50,000 a year, it’s monstrous. Most people starting out in a job get two, maybe three weeks a year.

KAMLOOPS —It hasn’t taken John Horgan long to want to grasp the reins of power in British Columbia. Shortly after the election, Horgan was all smiles and congeniality, having led his party to a moral, if not outright victory by denying the Liberals another majority government. Then he and Andrew Weaver talked, and the Green Party agreed to support the NDP in trying to run a minority government. Remember, this is not a coalition, but simply an agreement of support, which is certainly more beneficial to the NDP, and Horgan would be “the man”. So he’s now two for two.

KAMLOOPS — So the question is- you see someone lying in the street, obviously in distress. Maybe they’re not breathing. Maybe they are unconscious. You aren’t sure what to do. Your first response is to try and help. You call 911. The person on the line suggests you perform CPR. But you see some white powder on the person’s clothing. You think it might be fentanyl. Now you think perhaps the victim has suffered an overdose. You worry you might be exposed to the opioid. So you do nothing.

KAMLOOPS — If we believe everything we’ve been told so far, Tiger Woods was arrested for driving under the influence because he had been taking prescription drugs prior to driving. We won’t know for sure for a couple of weeks until toxicology tests come back, but if it turns out that’s what the problem was, it points out a growing concern among law officials over how to deal with people driving under the influence of substances other than alcohol.